When considering submitting an article, the Editors have provided the following criteria to assist authors with preparing their submissions:
Originality – The author should ensure that the manuscript has not been previously published nor is being considered by another journal.
Plagiarism – Content should be properly referenced. Be sure to check paper for possible accidental plagiarism. Some free plagiarism checker websites includes: www.grammarly.com, www.plagtracker.com and www.duplichecker.com.
Word Count – While no maximum length for manuscripts is prescribed, authors are encouraged to write concisely. Generally, a complete manuscript falls between 6,000 to 8,000 words excluding references, tables, and figures.
Writing – Please write in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). For non-native English speakers, and perhaps even for some native English speakers, the grammar, spelling, usage, and punctuation of the text are very important for an effective presentation. Hence, manuscripts are expected to be written in a clear, cogent, and readily understandable by an international readership. NOTE: To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the spell/grammar-check functions of your word processor.
International Readership – Manuscripts should be pitched at a level consistent with the standards expected of a major international research journal.
Text Format – Manuscripts should be submitted in Open Office, Microsoft Word, Rich Text Format (RTF), or Word Perfect document file format. The text should be in single spaced 10 point font single column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor’s options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. (footnotes and notes); employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. In general, figures and tables should conform to American Psychological Association (APA) formatting. APA version 6th or 7th is fine as long as the same version is used all throughout the paper. NOTE: All illustrations, figures, and tables should be placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end of the paper.
SUBMISSION STRUCTURE
Cover letter – A cover letter addressed to the editor of the journal should be provided. A cover letter includes the statement ensuring the manuscript is original and is not currently being considered by another journal. Other relevant information should also be included, such as: the full name of the corresponding author with his/her corresponding affiliation, rank (Graduate Student, Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, etc.) and address. NOTE: Please ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Contact details must be kept up to date by the corresponding author.
Title page – Should include the manuscript title, author(s) full name with their corresponding ranks, affiliations, and emails. Most important, details regarding the corresponding author should be current and accurate.
Title – Should be concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
Author Names and Affiliations – Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors’ affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the email address of each author.
Corresponding Author – Indicate the individual that will handle correspondence at all stage of reviewing and publication. NOTE: Please specify who the corresponding author is, if no one is specify, the first author shall be considered as the corresponding author.
Present/Permanent Address – If an author has moved since the work described in the manuscript was done, or was visiting at the time, a Present address (or Permanent address) may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes. NOTE: If there is a change of rank, affiliation, and/or address before the actual print publication of the article. Changes can be done through emailing the editor.
Manuscript – Although the journal does not specifically constrict the authors in writing in a specific style (or how the manuscript is divided), however, it is encourage that the authors follow a certain format to make the review process more objective.
Sub-division – Manuscript is divided using the numbered sections. Authors should divide the manuscript into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to the text. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
Abstract – A concise and factual abstract of no more than 250 words is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Keywords – Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 5 keywords (excluding words already found in the title of the manuscript). These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. NOTE: Keywords should be separated by a semicolon “;”.
Introduction – State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
Materials and Methods – Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.
Results – Results should be clear and concise.
Discussions – This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.
Conclusions – The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
Appendices – If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.
Acknowledgements – Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.). It is also advisable to include information of cases wherein prior versions (or small sections) of the article is presented during a conference or have been included in a proceeding. Lastly, a note on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is helpful for studies that falls under the human subject protection.
Reference Style – All manuscripts should be formatted using the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style, which is used primarily in the social sciences. Note APA version 6th or 7th is fine as long as the same version is used all throughout the paper. For additional examples, consult the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
NOTE: Authors are advised to use the help of a bibliographic software such as: Endnote, Refworks, and many others, for better and accurate references.
Tables and Figures – Tables condense and present complex statistical and numerical data. Tables should not be used if the information can be presented clearly in narrative form or by using simple lists.